Description

This use case covers situations where two parties have reciprocal commercial relationships: Party A sells to Party B and Party B sells to Party A. Rather than making two separate full payments, the parties settle through netting (compensation), where only the net difference is paid. This is a common practice in many sectors.

The fundamental rule is that two separate invoices must always exist: One from A to B and one from B to A. It is strictly prohibited to combine sales and purchases into a single invoice using negative lines for cross selling. Such a practice corrupts VAT pre-filling by mixing collected and deductible VAT, creates ambiguity in line interpretation, and causes accounting errors.

The payment means code BT-81=97 (clearing between partners) can signal that compensation will be used. For VAT on receipt, both invoices are considered paid at the date of the net payment. Lifecycle statuses (Payment Transmitted and Encaissee) are issued per invoice on the compensation date.

Key characteristics

Two invoices

One separate invoice required per direction of sale.

Negative lines

Negative lines are prohibited for cross selling in a single invoice.

Compensation payment

BT-81=97 (clearing between partners) signals compensation payment.

Net payment

The party with the largest debt only pays the difference.

VAT on receipt

Both invoices are considered paid on the net payment date.

Statuses

The Payment Transmitted and Encaissee statuses are issued per invoice on the compensation date.

Grouped payments

Paying multiple invoices (except for credit notes) follows the same principles.

Buyer responsibility

The buyer must provide payment details to the seller for proper reconciliation and Encaissee.

Relationship to other use cases

Use case 40 shares the compensation payment concept with use case 41 (barter) and use case 34 (partial collection) for the Encaissee management. The prohibition of negative cross-selling lines is a critical invoicing integrity rule. Use case 19b (self-billing) is particularly risky when combined with cross selling, as self-billed invoices may inappropriately include negative lines.

Business and tax context

Legal and regulatory framework

Compensation between reciprocal debts is permitted under French commercial law. However, each commercial transaction must be individually invoiced for tax and accounting compliance. The e-invoicing framework requires a separate Flux 1 per invoice for correct VAT pre-filling.

Common business scenarios

Reciprocal trading partners

A manufacturer buys raw materials from the distributor, who buys finished goods.

Cross services

An IT company provides hosting to a marketing firm, which provides advertising services.

Grouped payments

A buyer pays a batch of invoices (except for credit notes) in a single bank transfer.

Tax and accounting implications

Each invoice generates its own VAT obligations, which are collected for the seller and deductible for the buyer. The compensation is purely a payment mechanism and does not affect the VAT base. When VAT is on receipt, the compensation date is the payment date for both invoices. Mixing sales and purchases in a single invoice would corrupt Flux 1 and make VAT pre-filling incorrect for both parties.

Important:

Including negative lines in an invoice to represent cross sales is strictly prohibited. This corrupts VAT pre-filling, mixes collected and deductible VAT, and creates accounting errors. Two separate invoices are always required.

Key data requirements

Implementation considerations

Seller considerations

• Always issue separate invoices for sales. Never embed cross sales as negative lines.

• Use BT-81=97 to signal compensation payment intent.

• Transmit Encaissee on the compensation date for VAT on receipt invoices.

Buyer considerations

• Provide payment details to the seller for proper reconciliation when paying the net amount.

• Transmit payment per invoice (not just for the net amount).

General considerations

• The systems must support the BT-81=97 payment means code for compensation.

• Lifecycle status management must support per-invoice statuses even when payment is net.

SCI mapping

Field	SCI path
BT-3 invoice type	Invoice/InvoiceTypeCode
BT-81 payment means code	Invoice/PaymentMeans/PaymentMeansCode
BT-112 total TTC	Invoice/LegalMonetaryTotal/TaxInclusiveAmount
BT-115 amount due	Invoice/LegalMonetaryTotal/PayableAmount